Late Mona Lyons was a wonderful family woman

Over the past number of weeks, the community of Coolagh has grieved the passing of some tremendous people who have made enormous contributions to their locality.

Their contributions have been unequivocally above and beyond what was needed within their domain. Knowing the ‘Coolagh way’ over a long number of years, they have a propensity in that small neck of the Callan parish to go the distance.

I recently was privileged to write a eulogy about a departed daughter of Coolagh, Lena Sanders, but a short month ago yet another Coolagh icon, Mona Lyons passed to her well-earned place among the Heavenly Hosts.

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I can use such terminology with assurance as Mona Lyons was a God-fearing, generous woman who never placed herself ahead of a needy soul through her very long life. She was never first when it came to receiving plaudits, rather the opposite being the case; she was unobtrusively very much in the back row. She was so much part of the ‘Coolagh way’ of doing things.

Mona Lyons was a daughter of Tipperary, born into the Carrigan Family from Burnchurch, situated on one of the many hills of Killenaule in a valley between Graystown Castle and Moyglass. The year was 1936, and life was no bed of roses in Ireland at the time when the threat of war was feared around the world. With her three sisters and one brother, the family grew to cope with the lack of necessities such as running water and electricity, but they collectively worked hard off the land, and the four Carrigan girls became very adept at providing themselves with self-made clothing.

Such a grounding in basic necessities were hugely important when Mona met Jack Lyons and became Mrs Lyons, moving to Bauntha at 23 years of age in 1959. It was a match made in Heaven - never was a partnership crafted so perfectly. Jack Lyons was a hard-working, articulate man who lived by the idiom that there was always a solution to a problem - and he always found it. But his young bride was no less talented. Her baking, jam making, tarts and knitting were without blemish. Lessons learned in the Hills of Killenaule were not wasted.

Mona didn’t take too long to immerse herself in the ‘Coolagh way’. As a young lady she often referenced the Harvest Dances held in the Carrigan household never to be forgotten. Later, in Bauntha, she befriended Peggy Saunders, a friendship that stood the test of time. With Peggy, she invested her time and expertise to generate badly needed funding for a Mission in Africa. The funding raised helped to build a school from the ground on the nominated Mission Field.
dedication

In 1998 the Coolagh committee made special presentations to Mona, Joan O’Keeffe, Billy Maher and Lena and Mick Sanders for their dedication and long-standing support for the Coolagh Pattern. They generated sizeable sums of money which were directed to many needy causes over a very long number of years.

Mona was involved with the running of the Parish Hall Committee and the halcyon days of the Callan Carnival, the brainchild of the dearly departed Fr Jack Kennedy which brought the town alive, adding a tremendous vibrancy to the place for two weeks.

With Br Jacob, Fr Liam Dunne, Nora Comerford and Bernie O’Dwyer they were the founders of a camogie club in Callan, the fruits of which have become apparent over the past few years. She was heavily involved in the fundraising project that facilitated the building of Coláiste Éamon Rís - she had no inhibitions about participating in the 100-mile cycle fund raiser either, and she did it many times. She also loved playing cards in the Coolagh Hall, in particular 25s.

There are so many references one could write about the Lyons team under the stewardship of Mona and Jack Lyons. As they say, behind every good man there is a better woman. Good decent people like Mona and Jack Lyons are a rarity, and should be celebrated. Of course they will be missed but a wide raft of people, but in particular by their daughters Bernie, Breda and Mary; their sons Joe, Adrian and John; grandchildren; daughters-in-law; sons-in-law; neighbours and friends.
Mona’s Month’s Mind Mass will be celebrated on Sunday in the Parish Church in Callan at 10am.
- BH